Atty. Rolando S. Javier v. Hon. Court of Appeals (4Th Division); Hon. Cornelio Wasan

Summary

This case involves a petition for review challenging the Court of Appeals' dismissal of a certiorari petition. The underlying dispute concerned property rights over lots in the Gonzales Estate where GAUF employees had built houses through contracts to sell with their employer. When the original tenant-owners sought to demolish these structures through execution of previous court judgments, the employees filed for injunctive relief in a different branch of the same trial court. The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the certiorari petition as insufficient in substance, finding that the trial court committed grave abuse of discretion by violating the doctrine of judicial stability when it granted preliminary injunction that interfered with the execution processes of a co-equal court branch. The case establishes important precedents on the adequacy of certiorari as a remedy and the limits of coordinate court interference with ongoing execution proceedings.